Acalvio ShadowPlex: Strengthening SAP Security with Preemptive Defense

SAP sits at the heart of enterprise infrastructure, storing critical business data across logistics, finance, and supply chain systems. This makes it a top target for cybercriminals and state-sponsored groups seeking to disrupt operations or steal sensitive corporate data.

Recent attacks — such as the September 2025 breach against a global manufacturer — highlight the growing risk. Exploits against SAP NetWeaver forced production shutdowns and extended IT outages, proving that traditional preventive security measures are not enough.

Threats Targeting SAP Systems

Modern attackers view SAP as an entry point into an organization’s core operations. Notable threats include:

• APT groups (e.g., Silk Typhoon, APT41) exploiting SAP NetWeaver vulnerabilities for initial access and data theft.
• Ransomware gangs like Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters (ShinyHunters) abusing known CVEs (such as CVE-2025-31324, CVE-2025-42999) to compromise SAP infrastructure.
• GenAI-powered threats that use natural language prompts to generate exploit code for SAP systems.

These targeted attacks leverage SAP-specific weaknesses, such as unpatched web modules or exposed APIs, to deploy web shells and extract sensitive data undetected.

Why SAP Security Must Go Beyond Patching

Traditional SAP defenses rely heavily on patching and network segmentation — but both have limits.

• Patching Challenges: SAP publishes up to 15 patches per month across multiple components. Applying them rapidly without impacting production is time-consuming and operationally complex.
• Segmentation Limitations: Segmentation can reduce exposure, but modern attackers often exploit identity-based access paths, bypassing traditional network controls.

In today’s landscape, “assume compromise” must become the default mindset. Attackers will gain entry — the key is detecting them quickly before they reach your SAP systems.

Why Detection Is Difficult in SAP Environments

Threat detection within SAP systems is inherently challenging:

• EDR Limitations: Many organizations avoid deploying endpoint agents on SAP servers due to performance risks. This creates visibility gaps.
• Complex Log Formats: SAP’s proprietary and evolving log structures make log-based analytics inconsistent.
• Stealth Techniques: Recent SAP-focused attacks, such as those by LAPSUS$ Hunters, left no traces in application audit logs.

These gaps make it essential to introduce a new detection layer that doesn’t rely on agents, signatures, or traditional telemetry.

Preemptive Defense: A New Layer of SAP Protection

Preemptive defense takes a proactive approach: instead of waiting for alerts, it creates controlled deception environments that attract and expose attackers early in their activity.

Acalvio’s ShadowPlex platform achieves this using:

• Decoys: Realistic replicas of SAP servers, databases, and user accounts that lure attackers away from production systems.
• Honeytokens: Deceptive credentials and data designed to trigger alerts when accessed by unauthorized users.
• AI-driven orchestration: Automatically deploying and refreshing deception assets across IT, OT, and SAP environments.

Together, these capabilities provide early warning, threat deflection, and high-fidelity alerts with zero false positives.

Attack Scenario: How Preemptive Defense Works

1. Initial Access: An attacker gains a foothold in the corporate network (for example, via phishing).
2. Reconnaissance: They enumerate Active Directory accounts looking for SAP-related credentials.
3. Trigger: The attacker finds and attempts to use a fake SAP service account (a honeytoken).
4. Detection: The attempt immediately alerts SOC teams through SIEM/SOAR integration.
5. Response: Automated containment isolates the endpoint, blocking further lateral movement.

This approach stops attackers before they reach sensitive SAP databases and provides actionable intelligence on adversary tactics.

Generating Threat Intelligence from Deception

Acalvio’s deception-powered sensors can also be deployed on internet-facing assets to attract real-world SAP exploit attempts (e.g., NetWeaver portals).

This provides defenders with live threat intelligence, including:

• CVE exploitation patterns
• Attacker IPs and geolocation
• Credential types used
• Novel exploit sequences

Such visibility helps organizations anticipate new threats and adapt faster than adversaries.

Acalvio ShadowPlex: Automated, Scalable Preemptive Defense for SAP

Acalvio ShadowPlex enables organizations to deploy preemptive defense at scale:

• Packaged Deception Playbooks for SAP
• AI-Driven Deployment and Refresh of decoys and honeytokens
• High-Fidelity Alerts with automated triage
• Coverage Across IT, OT, and Cloud environments

This proactive strategy reduces dwell time, strengthens detection, and ensures business-critical SAP systems remain secure against APTs, ransomware, and insider threats.

Strengthen Your SAP Security with Softprom and Acalvio

As the official distributor of Acalvio, Softprom helps enterprises in Europe and the CIS enhance SAP security through preemptive defense.

With Acalvio’s AI-powered deception platform, organizations can move beyond reactive measures — and toward a proactive, resilient cybersecurity posture.

Contact Softprom today to learn how Acalvio ShadowPlex can help protect your SAP environment from evolving threats.